“Gotham takes you back to the days when Manhattan Island was forested, through the days (Revolutionary War) when they cut down most of the trees, and up to the 20th century. One of the great recurring themes is the conflict between those who want to help the unfortunates who are put out of work by economic turmoil resulting very often from rich stock manipulators and those who feel that any help of unemployed men, their wives, or their children will somehow weaken them. In other words, Republicans who forgive any sins of the upper classes, then as now, have felt strongly that feeding starving children and their unemployed parents or providing fuel and clothing for families' stoves weakens their character. It's great to see some of our founding fathers were principled in their heartlessness while others worked to mitigate economic depressions with public aid projects that saved lives that could eventually rejoin the work force because they lived to do so.”
